I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rapid-cycling plants that are self-compatible and lack inbreeding depression. Also disclosed are methods of producing and using such plants.
II. Description of Related Art
There exist several model systems for education and research in genetics such as Arabidopsis, zebrafish, C. elegans and Drosophila, but these model systems pose difficulties for educators' use. Among the reasons these model systems are difficult to use are the space and time required for growing and breeding, which classroom or small laboratory environments lack, as well as hindering physical characteristics and the requirement for additional equipment and time for phenotyping and mating. For instance, genetic experiments utilizing plants as model organisms often require multiple crosses to produce a useful number generations displaying identifiable phenotypes. Production of teaching lines and the use of these lines in the classroom therefore requires months or even years to perform cross-breedings of individual plants with desired traits, as many plants have lengthy life cycles. Similarly, the space required to perform the necessary number of breedings to produce or use such lines is prohibitive for classroom or small laboratory environments. The available model systems are therefore not ideal for use in educational environments.
For instance, Arabidopsis plants possess small seeds and flowers and exhibit extensive branching that easily becomes entangled making it difficult to track individual plants. These plants are thus not a useful system for all ages of students. Drosophila are difficult to use as well due to the need to anesthetize the organisms when determining phenotype, the timing of matings, and the need for magnification to view phenotypes.